PC Shipment In India Dip Over 25% In Q1: IDC

The overall India PC market continued to decline in Q1 2014, largely owing to poor end-user demand. According to analyst firm IDC, the overall India PC shipments for Q1 2014 stood at 2.03 million units, representing a year-on-year drop of 25.2% over Q1 2013.

The overall Commercial PC segment recorded a total shipments of 1.02 million units, showing a marginal increase of 4.1% sequentially over Q4 2013. “The overall Commercial PC market showed first signs of improvement over the last 9-10 months as investment activities have improved in the Banking and Government verticals. Vendors are optimistic about the overall market sentiments and believe it will pick up gradually among other verticals too in the course of 2014,” says Kiran Kumar, Research Manager of Client Devices at IDC India.

On the other hand, the overall Consumer PC shipments stood at 1.01 million units in Q1 2014, representing a drop of -4.3% sequentially over Q4 2013. “Consumer’s sentiments plummeted further due to high inflation and soaring prices owing to rupee fluctuations. Concerns over the economic conditions remained a key drag and Q1 was no different,” adds Kumar.

Dell beats HP, takes the top slot

In terms of vendor share, Dell, for the first time took early lead and achieved a market share of 23.1%, ahead of rivals HP and Lenovo. “Dell is doing well in reenergizing their channel focus in both consumer and commercial business. Renewed approach in their go-to-market strategy, product refresh on their commercial portfolio, and deeper penetration in the upcountry markets have been their driving forces in Q1 2014,” says Manish Yadav, Market Analyst of Client Devices at IDC India.

In an effort to become increasingly accessible to a widening customer base, Dell has been actively increasing its Consumer retail presence, recently launching its 200th Dell Exclusive Store in April 2014, says P. Krishnakumar, Executive Director and General Manager, Consumer & Small Business, Dell India in a statement. The company, which recently went private, is aggressively focussing on increasing penetration across all segments and is reaching out to the Small Business and Commercial segments with products and solutions through its strong channel and distribution network.

In the Commercial business segment, Dell showed significant growth with 40 percent quarter on quarter over Q4 CY2013 with respect to unit shipment. For the first time Dell also holds the top position in the workstation space with 47.1% share.

Hewlett-Packard (HP), which dominated the India PC market in 2013 across all product categories, took the second place with a share of 20.4% in Q1 2014. They however continued to lead the Consumer PC market in Q1 2014 across both desktop and notebook categories. Pricing, widespread retail presence, and strong support from channel partners ensured their lead in the consumer market.

Lenovo, with 14.9% market share, took the third spot. “Lenovo is currently in midst of an amendment to their structure and policies Their commercial business unit continued to support the growth in Q1 2014 too. They are positioned strongly amongst private banking, IT/ITeS and telco accounts,” adds Yadav.

IDC India anticipates the overall sentiments to get a boost amid hopes of a business-friendly and stable administration in the centre. Business optimism has climbed to its highest since the last 3-4 years and is expected to restore volume growth in the PC market over the next 12 months.

Yadav comments, “Though recovery is unlikely to happen immediately, the challenging economic conditions are expected to revive, bringing back consumer confidence. The impact of currency fluctuations is also expected to relieve through price control and inflation control measures. Vendors are expected to boost their sales during the festive period in the second half of the year. For the near term, Q2 may witness some growth on the back of education season but the growth is expected to be irregular.”

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